No it is nothing to do with seasonal fruit picking, but is a genuine medical condition identified since the rise of texting on mobile phones. Swedish ergonomist Ewa Gustafsson at the Sahlgrenska Academy studied 56 young adults had reported pain in their hands, neck and arms and found their problem was the way they texted.

First they tended to hunch over the phone, and only used one thumb to text instead of two. Bet you never realised the dangers of that, but apparently the electrogoniometer that she used to measure activity in the muscles , showed excessive use of the thumb muscles. If you suffer from this condition, obviously try using both thumbs to type instead of one, do not hunch over too much and don’t type too fast.

It can also help to give your hands some support by varying your position frequently, using the backrest of your chair, resting your forearms against a desk or your thighs.